Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Hampstead grades A overall, 18th among New Hampshire's 125 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Residents are healthier than 90% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and it reports less crime per resident than 87% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $112K. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $618K, 5.3 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. Only 2 of New Hampshire’s 187 towns score higher on hazard risk. Hampstead’s trail density is 1.5 miles per square mile, above both the New Hampshire town median (1.2) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Hampstead Meetinghouse is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Hampstead beats most towns.
Census counts: 724 in 1790, 8,998 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1930 and 2 maps from 1935 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Hampshire), ordered by how far Hampstead is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hampstead. Close and well known come first.
Big draw37 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
3 mi Ancient siteAmerica's Stonehenge
Big draw38 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
32 mi LakeWalden Pond
37 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
7 mi Theme parkCanobie Lake ParkFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · America's Stonehenge: User:Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Canobie Lake Park: Alex1961, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hampstead, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 19, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Hampstead.
Hampstead carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of New Hampshire (mostly inland flooding) and sends many workers across the state line, but it has seen reported crime rise by about half.
22 miles of trail in 20 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is West Road Conservation Area, 229 acres with 3.8 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Road Conservation Area | 3.8 mi | 229 |
| 2. Williams Wilderness Conservation Land | 3.1 mi | 92 |
| 3. West Road Town Forest | 2.5 mi | 132 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its B+ is the best School Grade on its borders; Atkinson (B) is next.
Its public schools are run by the Hampstead School District. One of its 4 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hampstead Central SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 470 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests
28% of Hampstead adults feel lonely, where New Hampshire’s towns sit at 30% and U.S. towns at 33%. 15% of Hampstead adults report frequent mental distress. Hampstead beats the New Hampshire average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
| Hampstead | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Hampstead | NH |
|---|---|---|
| More adults getting cholesterol checked | 90.4% | 88.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes rose from 32 to 57 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
New Hampshire has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Hampstead sits closer to the middle.
| Hampstead | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.3 per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 98% of New Hampshire towns, with expected losses of about $166 per resident a year; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Hampstead is 17 of 100. Since 1996, 8 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hampstead.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
27% of working residents cross a state line to work.
Most working residents leave Hampstead for work: only 8% work in town. Jobs based in Hampstead grew to 2,680 in 2023, 607 more than in 2013. 21% of workers work from home in Hampstead.
| Hampstead | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 21% | 16% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $112,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.8% | 6.8% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Typical home values rose 5.6% in the year to September 2026.
| Hampstead | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 82% | 82% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,299 a month | $1,393 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Hampstead has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 15° and about 76 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the New Hampshire average. 45% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 41% across New Hampshire.
| Hampstead | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 45% | 39% | 29% |
| Median age | 45.3 years | 44.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 18% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.1 points. Across New Hampshire, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Hampstead | NH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.5% | 9.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.8% | 8.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.6% | 8.7% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.6% | 12.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.6% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14% | 15.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.6% | 12.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.1% | 7.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.1% | 5.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.1% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.8% | 17.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 28.1% | 24.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.8% | 16.1% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
4 within 15 miles of the center of Hampstead
About 5 of every 100 Hampstead residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Hampshire.
Where Hampstead’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 notable people were born in Hampstead.
Place in New Hampshire, United States
Hampstead is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 8,998 at the 2020 census. Hampstead, which includes the village of East Hampstead, is home to a portion of the Rockingham Recreational Trail.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Hampstead.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Hampstead grades A overall, better than 91% of U.S. towns and #18 of 125 in New Hampshire. It grades A for health, A for safety and B+ for schools.
Yes, by national standards. New Hampshire has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Hampstead sits nearer the middle.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
5 notable people were born here, including Ernest Troubridge and Lauren Chooljian.
